Niagara College Canada
PA-10: Assessing Employee Satisfaction

In 2014, the fourth Employee Climate Survey was completed which, like previous surveys in 2006, 2008 and 2011, was delivered by Metrics@Work, a local firm with expertise in employee engagement and organizational measurement. With a total institutional response rate of 72%, it was identified that this was representative of the entire college community. The Employee Climate Survey is a very important exercise for Niagara College and is a key factor in maintaining a healthy organization that is committed to continuous improvement. It engages employees by taking the temperature of the work environment and generates important feedback that serves as a catalyst for positive change at the college. The survey measures important elements in the workplace, including respect, fairness, trust, leadership and management quality, manageable work stressors, recognition and opportunity, safety and workplace social support. The survey was delivered online, and ran from February 17 to March 7, 2014. All full-time faculty and staff, partial load and sessional faculty, and regular part-time support and administrative staff were invited to complete the survey. All responses to the Employee Climate Survey were confidential. When anyone completed the survey, he/she are doing so through an outside party in complete confidence. The College did not have access to the raw data or any report or information that would enable the College to identify an individual.

The results of the Employee Climate Survey were shared with the College community during the 2014 Day of Reflection in which participants discussed and identified themes that they believe are important to the College’s success and their success in performing jobs. From the work and information that flowed out of the 2014 Day of Reflection, a further group of employees, the Advisory College Committee (ACC) reviewed the themes and synthesized them into three primary groupings: Employee Recognition and Involvement, Enhancing Our Culture and Communications and Connections. While work continues on these themes, the ACC determined that two themes could best be handled through monthly submissions to InsideNC, the employee news platform at Niagara College: • Faculty and Staff Recognition – create a “Stories From the Field” section that would address employee and department recognition, communication and engagement; employee photo to be included with each submission • Meetings: Making them More Efficient and Effective – create a “Put in Practice “ section that would address best practices, mentoring, etc. As well, work continues at the department levels to enhance communications among staff as well as building stronger ties within divisions.